UK nations and regions
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is an ideally positioned economy allowing businesses across a range of sectors to benefit from a business-friendly environment, top talent pool, leading research institutions and robust infrastructure.
With a highly skilled workforce, quality skills pipeline, excellent infrastructure and unique market access, Northern Ireland offers a compelling proposition for business investment. Over 1,300 international companies across a range of sectors are based in Northern Ireland (NISRA, 2023). The area has a long-standing history of international trade performance, hosts globally recognised universities and offers investors unfettered access to both the UK and European Union markets.
Key facts for Northern Ireland
1,500 international companies
Sole UK land border with the rest of Europe
£2 billion revenue from aerospace and defence sectors
1,000 life science researchers in 17 world-leading research centres
5,100 graduates in professional and legal services each year
50% of the population under the age of 40
An industrial strategy for the whole of the UK
The modern Industrial Strategy is a new economic approach – a whole-of-government effort to back the UK’s strengths, with ambitious plans for 8 high-growth sectors (known as the IS-8) and the frontier industries at their leading edge, from quantum to pharmaceuticals. It is a 10-year plan, built on stability and openness, to make the UK the best country to invest in.
Building on Northern Ireland's strengths
Northern Ireland already has a huge amount to celebrate and the Industrial Strategy’s Sector Plans promote its wide-ranging strengths to investors.
Advanced manufacturing
The new Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, due to open in 2026, will continue to drive new sustainable polymers, composite and manufacturing technologies. Northern Ireland's high-performing, SC21 award-winning, SME (small and medium enterprise) supply chain supports rapidly growing global aerospace and defence primes.
Clean energy industries
Northern Ireland’s Maritime & Offshore Cluster boasts supply chain capability including turbine installation, operations and maintenance in Belfast and Northern Ireland's eastern counties. It has investment in heat pump production from Octopus Energy and Copeland. Copeland was awarded £4.6 million under the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition (HPIAC), which provides grant support to manufacturers to invest in new or expanding capacity, boosting supply chains and supporting jobs and growth in local communities. It’s also home to leading research centres for developing efficient, clean technology, for example Catagen.
Creative industries
Belfast City Region has a thriving screen industry with Belfast Harbour Studios, Studio Ulster and Titanic Studios. Studio Ulster is at the cutting edge of virtual production globally and houses CoSTAR Screen Lab, a partnership with Ulster University. Northern Ireland’s successful video games ecosystem includes companies like BlackStaff Games, Whitepot Studios and Italic Pig.
Defence
Northern Ireland’s strengths span complex weapons, next-generation maritime capabilities, directed energy weapons, cyber, space and advanced connectivity technologies, supported by a concentration of innovative defence firms, including Thales, Raytheon, and Harland & Wolff. Belfast is recognised as a leading cyber security hub, supported by institutions such as Queen’s University Belfast’s Centre for Secure Information Technologies.
Digital and technologies
Belfast is home to key R&D infrastructure such as the Cyber-AI Hub, the Centre for Secure Information Technologies, the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre, the Artificial Intelligence Research Centre, the Cognitive Analytics Research Laboratory, and the Centre for Quantum Materials and Technologies. It also has a strong omics cluster with 47 distinct companies.
Financial services
Belfast City Region is an established centre for middle and back office financial services activities including compliance operations and risk management. There is growth in technology-driven financial services, with CME Group and Citi both establishing technology offices in the city, quality local universities providing finance and tech graduates, and a cost-effective business environment and an international airport.
Life sciences
Northern Ireland has the fastest growing UK life sciences employment, with research-intensive universities, UK leading indigenous global companies and spinouts. It also boasts integrated longitudinal electronic health records and wider advanced manufacturing and cyber strengths.
Foundational industries relevant to IS-8 supply chains
Northern Ireland has key ports and a strong construction industry, while Belfast has an important critical minerals cluster.
Driving regional growth in Northern Ireland
The Industrial Strategy introduces ambitious policies to drive growth and investment across every nation and region of the UK. This is a 10-year strategy which will be a living document. We want to continue to work with devolved governments to ensure they can drive growth across the UK.
More policies will be delivered over time, but below are some of the specific interventions in Northern Ireland that form part of our strategy.
Locally targeted investments in the IS-8 growth driving sectors
- A strong cybersecurity cluster demonstrates the country’s unique strengths, home to 100 cybersecurity businesses and supporting 2,750 jobs. The spending review confirmed the previously committed £2 million for Queen’s University Belfast’s Cyber AI Hub, to continue developing research, skills and innovation across a range of cybersecurity themes and develop a skills pipeline of cybersecurity professionals with strong industry links
- A commitment to a new Defence Growth Deal in Northern Ireland, building on its major strengths in defence industries. This builds on Northern Ireland’s historic shipbuilding strengths and recent successes, such as Thales in Belfast being awarded a £1.6 billion contract with UK government backing to produce over 5,000 lightweight multirole missiles for Ukraine and reinforce Northern Ireland’s position in the global defence supply chain
- Northern Ireland’s advanced manufacturing sector, with strengths in aerospace and advanced materials, will benefit from access to £4.3 billion of funding for the advanced manufacturing sector, including up to £2.8 billion in research and development funding programmes over the next 5 years
Tools to help city regions and clusters attract private investment
- The National Wealth Fund, working with the Northern Ireland Executive, is identifying and securing the right financing for investment projects in Northern Ireland
- A new British Business Bank Cluster Champion in Belfast City Region, with deep expertise and local knowledge, will coordinate investment-readiness programmes, strengthen financial networks, and connect high-potential firms in the IS-8 to investors
- The Northern Ireland Executive is working to establish an Enhanced Investment Zone in Northern Ireland
Targeted support to drive innovation
- The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund will earmark £30 million for the Belfast-Derry/Londonderry corridor. This will empower local leaders to decide how to target research investment in that place and unleash its full innovation potential